Folding square.



1. LA FOLLETT-E.

FOLDING SQUARE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-5. 191's.

Patented- Dec. 26. 1916;

ATTORNEYS.

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WITNESS i UTE :rosnrn LA rename, or PORTLAND, oeneon, assronon or ronrY-ivinn one HUNDREDTHS 'ro ELIVIEB. n. McCLARAN, on PORTLAND, OREGON.

FOLDING senazan.

Application filed April 5, 1916.

To all whom it may concern w Be it known that I, JOSEPH LA FoLLn'rTE,

a citizen of'the United States, residing at- Portland, county of Multnomah, State of Oregon,"have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Folding Squares, of which the followingis a'specifi'cation.

My invention relates to squares in general, and particularly to that class of such devices known as carpenterssquares, and used carpenters, builders, contractors and the lie.

The objects of my invention are to produce a squarethat may be compactly folded when not in use; to produce a square that may be unfolded and transformed into a measuring rule and stright edge {to produce a square that may be'usedasan angle bisector and protractor;"to produce a square that may beset to any pitch, angle or bevel; to produce a squarethat when set for any angle will give at one reading the degrees of said angle and the inclination in inches per foot" corresponding thereto, and vice versa; and to produce a square thatmay be used for laying'out polygonsand other geometrical figures. I accomplish the above objects, and other desirable features by means of the construction shown in the drawing accompanying this specification, like characters of reference indicating like parts throughout the several views, and in whichz' Figure' l is a perspective view of my invention set for a right angle, and showing anothersettin'g indotted lines. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my inventi'onfolded, parts being broken away to show' theconstruction Fig.3 is a perspective view of my invention opened to form a rule'and straight edge. Fig. ie-shows, upon an en: larged scale, a section upon line Hot Fig. 2. Fig. 5 shows,--upon an enlarged "scale, a section upon line 5-'5 of Fig. Fig.6- shows one method of using my invention for bisecting angles. Fig. 7 shows one method of using my invention for laying out polygons.

In general my invention consists of two blades piv'otally 'connectednnd "a "bar pivot as sh'wn at 8 and 10 in Fig. 6.

ally attached to one of said blades "and adapted to be adjustably secured to the other blade so that said bar forms the base of the triangle included between said blades and said bar, in combination with means where- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916..

Serial No. 89,118.

by said blades may be locked in a straight line one with the other by said' bar, and graduations upon said bar;

The'blades are designated 8 and 9, blade 8 being that to which bar 10' is pivoted by means of a tubular or thimble rivet 11, as shown in detail in Fig. 5.

For'the purpose of adjustably securing bar 10t' blade9 I provide in said bar a longitudinal slot 12 which registers and coacts with a stud '13 rigidly mounted upon blade 9 and having thereon a thumb nut 1 for the purpose of clamping bar 10 in any desired position upon blade 9.

graved upon blade9 is a line 15 longitudinally disposed adjacent stud 13, which line produced would pass through the center or" pivot 16' which joins the blades 8 and 9. Engraved upon'one side 10 of bar 10 are lines which when brought into register with line 15 indicate respectively the angle included between blades 8' and 9 in degrees. Engraved upon one side 10" of bar 10 are lines which when brought into register with line'15 indicate respectively the inclination in inches'per foot of blade 8 respectively to blade 9, When set for any angle or inclination the respectively corresponding inclination or angle may be easily read from those lines registering with line 15.

Used as above'described and illustrated in Fig. 1, my invention performs all the functions of a square, a bevel square, a protractor and an inclinometer.

I locate pivot 11 and stud 13 so th t the blades 8 and 9 form the sides of an isosceles triangle of which bar 10 is the base.

By means of this construction'my invention maybe usedas an angle bisector, as illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein 17 is the angle between lines 18 and '19- which is to be bisected. To biseot said angleproduce line 18 beyond the apex of angle 17 to form angle 20 complementary to angle 17; set the square to angleQOas shown, and then place thesquare as shown in dotted lines with the intersection ofblade 8 and bar 10 coincident with the apex 'of angle 17, and the blade 8 alined with one side of said angleywhen th'ebar 10 "will bisectthe angle,

To lay out a polygon, divide 360 degrees by the number of angles or sides in the polygon and set the square to the resulting degrees upon the scale by the scale upon side secured to blade 9 intermediate pivot 16 and stud 13. When the blades 8 and 9 are swung upon pivot 16 into a straight line the slot 12 in bar 10 will engage with the stud 21 and an extension 22 upon pivot 16, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby preserving the perfect alinement of blades Sand 9. When folded, as

' shown in Fig. 2, the stud 13 enters the tubu= lar pivot 11 and stud 21 enters orifice 23 provided therefor in blade 8; the slot 12 then engages stud 21 and extension 22, and is secured by thumbnut l-l upon stud 21, thus securely holding the square folded as shown.

In Fig. 1 the blades are graduated in inches, and the bar in degrees and inclinations, and it is to be understood that any desirable and suitable graduations may be placed upon oneor both sides of the blades without departing from the spirit of my invention.

My invention may be made of any size,

7 and constructed of any material deemed convenient and suitable for a device of this character, and while I have illustrated and described a form of construction and arrangement of parts found desirable in materializing my invention, I wish to include in this application for Letters Patent all mechanical equivalents and substitutes that may fairly be considered to come within the scope and purview of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having disclosed my invention so that others skilled in the art may be enabled to construct and usesame, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

v1. In a folding square, a duality of scale bearing blades pivotally connected; a bar pivotally connected to one of said blades and adapted to be slidably connected to the opposite blade; means to secure said bar upon said opposite blade; and means whereby said bar may rigidly secure said'blades in the form of a straight edge or rule.

2. In a folding square, a duality of scale bearing blades; a pivot connecting said blades having thereon an extension above the surface of one of said blades; a bar having therein a longitudinal slot, and engraved thereon a protractor scale and an inclination scale; a tubular pivot connecting said bar to one of said blades; a stud secured to one of said blades and adapted to coact with the sldt in said bar and also with said tubular pivot; and a stud secured to one of said blades intermediatesaid first mentioned stud and said extension upon the pivot connecting said blades.

8. In a folding square, a duality of blades pivotally connected; a bar pivotally connected to one of said blades; means whereby said bar is guided upon said opposite blade so that for any setting of said blades an isosceles triangle is formed by'said blades and said bar; means to clamp said bar in said guiding'means; means whereby'said bar may secure said blades in a straight l1ne one extended from the other uponopposite sides of their pivotal point; and means whereby said bar may secure said blades in a position folded one upon the other about their pivotal point.

4. A'mechanics folding square compris ing a duality of scale bearing blades pivotally connected; a stud upon one of said blades; a pivot upon the other of said blades, said stud and said pivot being equi-distant from the pivotal connection of said blades; a slotted bar mounted upon said pivot and coacting with said stud to slide substantially:

transversely upon the stud bearing blade; said bar having engraved thereon a protractor scale and an inclination scale, the latter being adapted to register with said stud bearing blade.

5. A mechanics folding square comprising 7 a duality of scale bearingblades pivotally connected; a slotted bar pivotally. connected to one of said blades; a stud upon one of said blades adapted to coact with said slotted bar, and to cause said blades and saidbar always to preserve thegeometrical relation of the three sides of an isosceles triangle; said slotted bar having thereon a protractorscale and an inclination scale, the latter adapted to register with the stud bearing blade. In witness whereof I'claim the foregoing as my own I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, at Portland, county of Multnomah, State of Oregon, this 29th day of'March, 1916. t

' JOSEPH LA FOLLETTE. Witnesses: 7 V

C. F. BLAKE, E. E. MCCLARAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I Patents,

. Washington ,D.G. 

